Joining another post after resignation constitutes acceptance and forfeits the right to withdraw it.

The petitioner was engaged as a Data Entry Operator in the District Project Office of OSEPA on 25 February 2012. After obtaining a No Objection Certificate, he resigned from that position on 1 October 2022 and joined as Technical Support Staff under IM-PDS at Malkangiri on 7 October 2022, thereafter serving at Nabarangpur until 31 March 2023 and receiving remuneration for that period.

On 13 January 2023, he sought withdrawal of his resignation and continuation as Data Entry Operator. The State Project Director, OSEPA rejected the request on 1 November 2023.

Although the District Education Officer’s enquiry report dated 29 May 2023 recorded the petitioner’s satisfactory service and supported withdrawal of the resignation, the authorities refused to restore him to his earlier post.

The petitioner consequently sought quashing of the rejection order and re-engagement as Data Entry Operator at Nabarangpur.

1. Whether the petitioner could withdraw his resignation from the post of Data Entry Operator after joining and working in a different post under another government department.

2. Whether the petitioner retained a right or lien to continue in the earlier post in the absence of a formal order accepting his resignation.

3. Whether, notwithstanding rejection of the withdrawal request, his case could be considered afresh for a new engagement as Data Entry Operator.

The Court applied the principle that an employee who resigns from one post and thereafter joins a different post or engagement cannot simultaneously claim continuation in the former post.

Joining the new post after resignation was treated as conduct amounting to deemed acceptance of the resignation and forfeiture of the petitioner’s lien or right to continue in the earlier post.

The Court further applied the principle that, once the employee has actually worked in and received remuneration for the subsequent post, withdrawal of the resignation at a later stage cannot revive the earlier service position.

No specific statutory provision or judicial precedent was cited in the judgment.

The Court held that the petitioner’s subsequent conduct was decisive. Although no formal acceptance order had been issued, he joined the Technical Support Staff position on 7 October 2022, worked there until 31 March 2023, and accepted remuneration for that engagement.

By voluntarily joining a different post after resigning, he effectively severed his connection with the Data Entry Operator post and forfeited any lien in it.

Permitting him to withdraw the resignation would impermissibly allow him to claim simultaneous or overlapping continuation in two distinct engagements.

The Court distinguished a case where an employee merely submits a resignation but waits for formal acceptance without joining another post; here, the petitioner had already acted upon the resignation by joining the alternative engagement.

However, the Court treated fresh engagement as a separate matter from restoration to the previous post and considered that issue capable of independent examination.

Nevertheless, it directed the State Project Director, OSEPA, to consider the petitioner’s case afresh for engagement as Data Entry Operator in the District Project Office, Nabarangpur, keeping in view the District Education Officer’s enquiry report dated 29 May 2023.

The writ petition was disposed of with these observations and directions.